Hundreds new memorials honouring those awarded the Victoria Cross during the
First World War are to be created to mark the conflict’s centenary.

Commemorative paving stones will be laid in the home towns of the 480 British-born VC recipients, under plans announced by the Government on Sunday, 99 years to the day since the war broke out.

The scheme to celebrate the winners of Britain’s highest award for battlefield valour will be a centrepiece of the events being planned from 2014 to 2018 to mark the conflict 100 years on.

Ministers have also unveiled plans to provide extra help to people wanting to renovate previously neglected war memorials, in what is significant step forward for The Sunday Telegraph’s Lest We Forget campaign.

A new website is to be launched giving information on how to secure grants and funding for anyone wanting to refurbish local monuments that have fallen into disrepair.

Nearly 10 million soldiers were killed before the guns fell silent on Armistice Day on November 11 1918. Nearly a million of those were British or Commonwealth troops.

Ministers and an advisory board, which includes senior retired military figures, politicians, writers, historians and religious leaders, have spent several months considering ways to mark the centenary.

David Cameron has said he wants a “truly national commemoration” that “captures our national spirit, in every corner of the country”.

Among aspects that have already emerged are a service at Glasgow Cathedral, a year from today, at which the Queen is expected to be joined by other heads of state, and a vigil, at the end of the day, at Westminster Abbey where a single candle will be extinguished at 11pm, This will be a century on from the moment when, in the words of Sir Edward Grey, Britain’s foreign secretary at the time, “the lamps are going out all over Europe”.

Announcing the VC scheme, Eric Pickles, the Communities Secretary, said: “It is our duty to remember the British and Commonwealth troops who lost their lives fighting in the Great War and we are determined to make sure their bravery for King and Country is not forgotten.

“Laying paving stones to mark these Victoria Cross heroes will ensure that there is a permanent memorial to all the fallen who fought for our country and the competition is a great way for people from all corners of the United Kingdom to get involved.”

An open competition will be held to design the commemorative stones, with the winner being chosen in October. Stones will be given to councils in the areas where the men were born. The Foreign Office is considering how to honour the winners born abroad, including Australians, Canadians and New Zealanders.

Among the war’s first winners of the Victoria Cross was Sidney Godley, who held a bridge single-handedly against advancing Germans despite being wounded, during the Battle of Mons, in August 1914. He was born in East Grinstead, Sussex, before moving to Essex.

The last such award from the conflict went to Brett Cloutman, from north London, for an action just five days before the armistice. Cloutman prevented the retreating Germans from blowing up a bridge by cutting demolition wires while under heavy fire.

The website to assist people funding the renovation of memorials will go online later this year and will direct them to sources of funding.

The Heritage Lottery Fund is giving £6 million in grants for people wanting to mark the centenary, including money for restoring memorials. Funding is also available from the War Memorials Trust, English Heritage, Historic Scotland and its Welsh equivalent, Cadw.

Maria Miller, the Culture Secretary, said: “It is really important that we mark the centenary which saw some of the darkest days in our history and remind everyone of the sacrifice that was made – and how it has affected all our lives today.”

The Sunday Telegraph’s Lest We Forget campaign has previously highlighted the plight of hundreds of monuments in urgent need of repair.

Many have fallen victim to thieves, vandals or neglect. Restoration is often hampered because there is no authority responsible and no funding available.

It was launched specifically to ensure the nation’s memorials are in a fitting state in time for the centenary.

Today also sees the start of work on a memorial arch in Folkestone to commemorate the millions of men who embarked from the port to the Western Front. The £500,000 Step Short project is named after the order given to troops to shorten their stride as they marched down the slope from the cliffs to waiting ships.

Damian Collins, MP for Folkestone and Hythe, said: “Ten million men went through the town during the course of the war and it’s a site which has significance for everyone in the country.

“The arch goes over the road where many marched down and many never came back.”

“We are very keen that people come to Folkestone during the centenary period. People might be planning to go on battlefield tours and they could also see the place where their relatives left the country.”

The arch, built with the help of Lend Lease, a property firm, will be the only physical memorial to mark the commencement of the war. It will be lit at night and have images of marching soldiers projected on to it.

The town is also digitising visitors’ books from a temporary café which catered to troops in transit. The eight volumes have the names and regiments of more than 42,000 soldiers who passed through.

Ann Berry, the vice-chairman of the project, said: “Folkestone played a huge role during that time. We had millions of men go through on their way to the Western Front.

“People will be able to sit down and think what the arch means to them, or just rest a while and think about what our country has done to keep us free.”